23 pages • 46 minutes read

The Jewish Cemetery at Newport

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1854

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Graves

Apart from their literal meaning, the graves present complex and prominent symbolism in the poem. They represent death and all its accompanying finality, but also, peace. Buried with the consecrating promise of eternal life and rest, the grave dwellers are watched over by nature. The trees of the cemetery are described as providing shade and “a hand unseen, / Scattering its bounty, like a summer rain” (Lines 26-27) keeps the graves green and fresh. The conjunction of pleasant imagery of leafy trees and summer rain with the graves shows that death is not an object of fear, but a reality and even a reprieve. The descriptor “green” (Line 28) indicates that the dead live on in memory and in nature. Yet, the poet also describes the graves as “silent” (Line 3) or having “silence” (Line 22). The fate of the Jewish nation at large, which he conflates with the graves, is described with pessimism at the end of the poem. The ambiguous symbolism indicates that death likely remains a mystery for the poet, as well. Like most human beings, he grapples to make peace with its unalterable reality.

Unleavened Bread and Marah

In Judaic tradition, “unleavened bread” (Line 37) symbolizes the exile and ultimate freedom of the Israelites fleeing the atrocities of Egyptian kings. Since the Israelites did not have time to leaven their bread (by adding yeast, a process which can take days) before their exodus, they ate flat bread during their exile in the desert before reaching the promised land. The Festival of Passover commemorates and celebrates this exodus, which ultimately proved liberating; traditionally, only unleavened bread is served during Passover. In “The Jewish Cemetery at Newport,” the unleavened bread symbolizes the forced migration of Jewish people throughout history. “Marah” (Line 40) is a Hebrew word meaning bitter, and refers to the undrinkable water found by the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 15.23-26). Like the bread, marah stands for the hardships of the Jewish diaspora. However, because the unleavened bread also symbolizes a rite of passage leading to freedom in Judaic tradition, in the poem, the bread and marah also indicate that the Jewish diaspora may find more amenable homes elsewhere, as the migrants to Newport may have.

Hebrew Book

Indo-European languages, such as English have scripts that read from left to right. On the other hand, languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Urdu have right-to-left scripts. This essentially means a book written in Hebrew would start from what is regarded as the last page in an English book, and end on the English first. Longfellow uses the Hebrew book as a symbol for the Jewish people’s pride in their past. As the Hebrew book reads from right to left, the Jewish people in Longfellow’s poem look to their past prophets for inspiration. More problematically, the Hebrew book symbolizes what the poet claims is the tendency of Jewish communities to look over their shoulder. In this symbolism, reading the book turns life into the “Legend of the Dead” (Line 56): In viewing the world as recurring and circular, people can start regressing. Though the metaphor around the Hebrew book is clever, some of its implications are debatable. For instance, the poem conflates reading from right to left as reading backward, which in itself is a false corollary.